Too Many Secrets
by beautifulliar22
Summary: Hermione is supposed to hate Malfoy. Draco is supposed to loathe the mudblood Granger. But can he really keep himself away from her any longer? And when Hermione begins to realize she's falling for the blond boy, can she hide her feelings from him as well as herself? Dramione
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One: Hermione**

Preparations for the O.W.L.'s were probably the reason I hadn't been getting enough sleep. Probably the reason that it was getting harder and harder to remain awake in class, even though it was crucial to continue to absorb the last-minute information the teachers were giving us to help us with the exams. And also probably why Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, my two best friends, had been continuously avoiding me for the past two weeks so that I wouldn't pressure them to over-study as well. Not that I blamed them, of course. I tended to get quite crabby when I was sleep-deprived.

I hurried down the corridor of Hogwarts, bag filled with books slung over my shoulder, and frizzy brown hair nearly obscuring my vision. I had fallen asleep in the library during my free period, while I had been studying, and had overslept. This meant I would be late for double potions with the Slytherins, Snape's class, which also meant I would probably get points deducted from Gryffindor and detention, but what could I do?

I ran down the last stone flight of steps into the lower levels of the dungeons, and shivered involuntarily as a cool, stale breeze hit me. I streaked down the last two corridors until I was at Snape's classroom and rushed in. A feeling of dismay fell over me as I saw that everyone else in the class was already partnered up and beginning to brew the potion we were learning today, which happened to be a wit-sharpening potion.

Professor Snape looked up at me from where he had been inspecting Neville Longbottom's potion rather snidely, and gave me a cold glare.

"Ah, miss Granger. You decided to show up to class. How spectacular," the way Snape said it however, it was extremely clear he felt the opposite.

I racked my brain for an excuse that would sound at least plausible, for the true story was far too odd and somewhat embarrassing. As a fifth year, sadly, I could not use the excuse that I had gotten lost, for that would be childish and even more embarrassing than the truth. After thinking for a few moments, I had nothing else I could say. "Well, you see sir, I had a free period, and I was in the library, studying, and-"

Snape cut me off, waving his hand to silence me. "None of that, Miss Granger, I do not want any of your petty excuses. For your tardiness, there will be five points from Gryffindor. Come late again to my class, Granger, and it will be more. Get to work."

He indicated for me to begin brewing my potion, but as I went to go sit down at my usual desk with Neville, who I could tell was already having trouble, despite it only being a few minutes into class, Snape redirected me to a new seat.

"Ah, Miss Granger, I feel it would be best if you sat next to Malfoy today. Miss Parkinson, you may come work with Longbottom," Snape said, and my eyes widened with shock. Malfoy? I had to work with Draco Malfoy? Glancing over at where he was sitting, I noticed neither he nor Pansy Parkinson looked all too happy with the arrangement either. She gave him one last puppy-dog look, complete with fluttering eyelashes and a flick of her hair, before she stalked over to where Neville was sitting and banged her cauldron so carelessly and loudly onto the table, that some of her not-completed potion sloshed over the edges and spilled onto the wooden countertop.

Snape glared at her, but said nothing. Since she was in his own house, he would not dare take away any points unless absolutely necessary. I wished Professor McGonagall would have that kind of sympathy with the Gryffindors.

I hesitantly made my way over to Malfoy's table. I glanced over at Harry and Ron, who were sitting at a table next to one another, and they both gave me sympathetic looks, but said nothing and continued brewing, in the fear that Snape would deduct even more points from our house.

When I finally reached his table, I could feel someone staring knives into my back, and I looked over my shoulder to find Pansy Parkinson glaring at me. She must have been jealous of me. This made me feel smug for a moment before I realized she was jealous because I was working with Malfoy, and that made the smugness fade immediately. Malfoy and I were not together, and never would be. There was nothing for her to be jealous of. We had never even said hello to one another, and the only greeting he had ever given me was 'get out of my way, Granger' or 'filthy little mudblood'. Of course, he hadn't actually spoken a word to me in years, but those greetings were stuck in my mind, and made me think the absolute lowest of Mr Draco Malfoy.

As I slowly dropped my bag onto the floor, and sat down at the table, Malfoy immediately moved his cauldron closer to the center of the table so I could use it as well. Well, at least he didn't want me to fail potions class.

I leaned down to take out my potions book, and brought it up in front of me onto the table. I realized I had no idea what page the wit-sharpening potion was on, and was just about to go through the index to find it, when Malfoy unexpectedly spoke up.

"It's on page 258," he told me, and I glanced over at him. He himself even seemed surprised he had spoken, and I nodded, without replying.

I turned to the page Malfoy had instructed me to, and found myself looking at the wit-sharpening potion. I then realized that I had no idea where in the potion-making process Malfoy was, when he spoke up again.

"I've just added the armadillo bile. Um, here, you can cut up half of the ginger root." he said, and his voice was soft and almost shy. I had never heard him speak to anyone that way before, much less someone from Gryffindor.

"Thanks," I said, much less kindly than he had, reaching out to take the ginger root from his hand. I had not planned to look up at him, but when his fingers brushed against mine as I took the ginger root from him, I couldn't help glancing up. His eyes were already locked on my face, but he quickly looked away.

I blushed what I was sure was a deep shade of scarlet, and immediately set to work busying myself with carefully cutting up my half of the ginger root.

The ginger root was much harder to cut, especially now that I was nervous. With the thought of Malfoy looking at me on my mind, and my unfinished nap, I was practically a mess. My hands were sweating profusely, even though I repeatedly wiped them on my robes, and they were shaking as well, which made cutting the ginger root neatly almost impossible.

Malfoy seemed to notice I was having trouble, because suddenly his hands were on top of mine, helping me to saw the knife slowly back and forth to cut the ginger root neatly into thin slivers.

I froze as he did this, heart pounding loudly in my chest. Why was he making me so nervous? It was Malfoy, after all. He had been nothing but nasty to me in all my five years at Hogwarts. So why all of a sudden was he being nice to me. In my mind I could hear him snidely commenting 'So much for being the brightest witch of your age, Granger. You can't even cut up a stupid ginger root.'

I jerked my hands away and said harshly, "You can finish those."

Malfoy just shrugged and pulled the ginger root closer to him, so it would be easier for him to cut it. I clenched my hands into fists at my sides and took a deep, calming breath. Malfoy's peculiar behavior still puzzled me, but I decided to let it go, and continue brewing the potion.

When Malfoy finished cutting up the ginger root, I scooped all of the pieces up and dropped them into the cauldron.

"I know why you hate me," Malfoy said, startling me as I continued to drop the rest of the ginger root into the cauldron. "And you have every right to, but this silence is getting uncomfortable," he glanced over at me to calculate my reaction, but I was too busy biting back an unwanted smile that I didn't notice. "You know, we don't have to talk about anything personal. Just how you've liked the weather recently, and how horrifying it is that the O. are coming up so soon. Or what we have in common."

I glanced over at Malfoy stirring the potion, and bit back a laugh. "Well, I know what we both have in common," I said, and he frowned.

"What?"

"Neither of us know how to make a potion. You were supposed to stir the potion twice counter-clockwise, not three times clockwise." I informed him, and he stopped stirring, looking down at the now bubbling potion with a rather bemused expression.

"Oh... I suppose you're right." he said, biting his lip in thought. I tried to hold back the thought of just how attractive that was. "Although I'm somewhat hesitant to call Professor Snape over. He's in one of those moods, and he'd probably just take it out on you."

"Isn't Snape always in one of those moods?" I asked, laughing lightly. Malfoy did the same, but then I thought about something he had just said. "And why does it matter to you if Snape takes points away from Gryffindor? Wouldn't that just help Slytherin get ahead?"

"Slytherin was always ahead," Malfoy joked, and I smiled, shaking my head. "And it's not about the points. I don't want him yelling at you."

Before I could puzzle over the strange sweetness and bewildering meaning of Malfoy's words, Snape walked over and looked down at our potion with what I was sure was a smirk.

"Miss Granger. It seems that not only were you tardy today, but you also seem determined to drop Malfoy's grade for class work. You've very clearly ruined the potion. Ten points from Gryffindor. Don't let it happen again," my mouth dropped open, and as Snap walked away, I could have sworn he had a satisfied smirk plastered to his face.

Malfoy glanced at me, an apologetic look on his face. "Sorry about that," he told me quietly, putting the fire he had conjured up for under is cauldron out with a flick of his wand.

Still slightly dumbstruck at Snape's obvious favor towards the Slytherins and hatred towards the Gryffindors, especially me at the moment, I shook my head. "No, it's not your fault. It's Snape, that bloody-" I cut myself off before I could be overheard insulting my professor. Not only would I get detention, but I was sure Snape would make it as horrible as possible. He would most likely have me cleaning up the dungeons without magic or polishing the trophy room as Ron had done once with Filch, the caretaker.

Malfoy let out a little laugh, and I couldn't help the small smile that graced my face as well. With another flick of his wand, Malfoy made the failure of a potion disappear. I sat down on my stool, awkwardly fiddling with my hands as we sat there in another uncomfortable silence. I felt like I wanted to say something, but wasn't sure what to say anymore, and obviously Malfoy had lost interest in me. He had turned around to talk to one of his Slytherin friends, and I bit my lip, feeling a bit rejected.

Finally, potions ended, and I jumped out of my seat, rushing out of the classroom.

"Hermione!" I heard Harry call out to me from behind, but I ignored him, sprinting down the corridor. The farther away from Malfoy I was, the better I would feel. "Hermione!" Harry called out to me again, but I didn't stop until I had reached the library, halfway across the school. I stood outside the library, panting, as I waited for my two friends to catch up with me.

"What the bloody hell was that?!" Ron demanded, glaring at me as he placed his hands on his knees and bent over, trying to regain his breath.

"I had... no idea... you could run that fast," Harry said, breathing heavily.

"It was nothing," I said to both of them, ignoring Harry's remark. "I just wanted to get as far away from Snape as I could before he could take even more points from Gryffindor for me taking too long to walk out of the room or something." This wasn't a complete lie, but then again, it wasn't exactly the truth either. The fact that I wanted Malfoy, Malfoy of all people, to like me suddenly, scared me. And it made me afraid that I would get my hopes up only to be shot down and hurt. Plus the fact that both Ron and Harry would kill me if they knew.

"Well don't do that again. You practically gave me a bloody heart attack," Ron said, wheezing, and I couldn't help laughing.

"Hermione, what are you looking at?" Ginny asked, a crease forming between her brows as she turned around to glance in the direction I was staring in.

"Uh.. nothing," I said, quickly scrambling to busy myself with spreading jam on my toast.

"It couldn't have been nothing, you've been distracted all morning," Ginny said, looking at me worriedly. "Are you sick or something?" The truth was that I had been staring over at the Slytherin table where Malfoy sat, looking somewhat distracted as well, and talking to some of his house-mates. His silver-blonde hair was combed neatly as usual, which at first could be mistaken for a good-two-shoes, which plenty of people thought he was, but I thought of him as something else. It sounded slightly weird, even to me, but I considered him a 'bad boy'. Kind of dark and mysterious, even though he was snotty and outspoken and rude the majority of the time.

"Oh, no, I'm fine," I replied, but I couldn't help glancing over at Malfoy's table again. What made me jump was that he was staring back at me, his grey eyes brooding. When he saw me looking, however, he swiftly turned away, back to his conversation. "Um, Ginny, I have to go. I just realized I forgot my Transfiguration book upstairs. I've got to go and get it before lessons. I'll meet back up with you at lunch, alright?"

Ginny looked uncertain at my rash behavior, but she nodded anyway, and I raced out of the dining hall.

In my haste, I didn't look where I was going, and ran full on into someone, knocking all of said person's books out of their hands and spilling my own all over the ground as well.

"Oh, dammit!" I cried out, not realizing how loudly it was until I could hear it echoing throughout the front entrance. I clutched my head, wincing in pain as I looked up to see who I had run into. "Harry!" I exclaimed, placing my hand on his shoulder. "Are you alright? I'm so sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going and-" he cut me off.

"It's okay, Hermione, I get it," Harry said reassuringly, but I wasn't quite convinced by the way he was holding onto his head as well. We both bent down to gather our books off of the ground when he spoke up again. "So who were you running away from this time?" Harry asked, and I paled.

"What do you mean, who?" I demanded harshly, picking up the last of my books and stuffing it into my already overflowing bag. I stood up, and Harry did too, his face now confused at my annoyed tone. "I was running upstairs because I realized I had forgotten my transfiguration book and I didn't want to be late to another class today," I lied, and I was surprised at how naturally it came to me. I hadn't thought of myself as a liar, but I obviously was.

"Ok, ok, sorry. My mistake," Harry said, holding up his hands in surrender, and I sighed.

"Ginny's at the table already," I told him, studying his expression. His eyes widened before he looked behind me as if to see if I was telling the truth.

"Yeah?" he asked, obviously not being able to see where she was seated, and I nodded, before walking off, smiling to myself.

I walked slowly to Transfiguration, wandering some of the halls before the bell finally rang to signal classes were starting, and I walked into the classroom. Obviously I was the first one there, and I waited patiently at one of the desks in the back where me, Ron, and Harry usually sat.

Slowly at first, and then all at once, students began to come in, but neither Ron or Harry came in. Practically all of the students were whispering excitedly to one another, and some were even glancing in my direction. Did they know what had happened to my friends? None of them came up to me to say, so when the lesson started, I found myself sitting all alone, wondering where on Earth they could have gone.

"So, as you know, O.W.L.'s are coming up next week," Professor McGonagall said curtly, and groans echoed through the room. "If you haven't begun to study already, it's too late to start now, so I wouldn't bother unless you really know how to cram. We've gone over everything you need to know in class, and we've reviewed as well. You know that there will be a written part of the test and a part of the test where you will actually use your wand. Is everyone clear on that?" Professor McGonagall looked around the room, but no one spoke up. "Very well, then, I will see you on Monday, and I hope you are prepared for the test!" The bell rang just then, and everyone rushed towards the door.

Still wondering where Harry and Ron were, I got out of my seat and was about to leave the room when Professor McGonagall called out to me.

"Oh, Miss Granger! A word, please?" I gulped, nodding, before heading to the front of her classroom to stand in front of her desk.

"Yes, Professor?"

"If you were wondering where your friends were, I saw them going up to Professor Dumbledore's office shortly before breakfast was over," she said, and I paled. What had those two done this time?

"Thank you, Professor." I said before hastily exiting the room and making a beeline for the headmaster's office.

A/N: So, this is my first chapter of my first fanfic up on this site, so I'd love some reviews, because I really appreciate any sort of feedback I can get from readers. Thank you! xx


	2. Chapter 2

**Draco:**

During breakfast, I found myself distracted as I tried to eat my eggs and toast.

"What's the matter with you, Draco? You've been awfully quiet," Pansy whined, widening her eyes in a way I supposed she thought was endearing and batting her eyelashes.

"Nothing, I'm just tired," I grumbled, taking a bite of my toast.

Crabbe, Goyle, Blaise and Pansy began a conversation, but I was only half-listening. I felt someone looking at me, but when I glanced around to see who it was, I couldn't find anyone.

"Hey, Draco, quit looking around, you're bothering me," Blaise said, and I glared at him.

"Shut up, Blaise, I can do whatever the bloody hell I want," I muttered.

For some reason, I found myself searching out the last person I ever thought I would want to look at: Hermione Granger. She was sitting with the Weasley sister, Ginny I thought her name was, and was talking, looking nervous about something. Her hair had become more curly than frizzy the last few years, and I couldn't help noticing the way she pinned it back from her face showed off her cheekbones and pretty facial features. I soon realized that I had just thought Hermione Granger, the mudblood, was pretty, and wished I could wake up from this trance I had been in since double potions the day before.

It hadn't been this bad before I had been partnered up with her in potions. Truthfully, I had had a small crush on her since the day in third year that she had punched me in the face. The funny thing was that it should have made me angry, but all it did was make me want to kiss her.

I had since tried to stop thinking about her as much, and succeeded, distracting myself by mindlessly flirting with Pansy Parkinson, who in all honestly, I didn't like in the least bit. I had even kissed Pansy during the Yule Ball in fourth year, hoping that it would make me forget completely about the mudblood Granger, dancing around with Viktor Krum. It didn't, all it felt like was wet and slobbery as she practically ate my face off.

It hadn't been so bad during fifth year, since we only had Defense Against the Dark Arts and Potions together with the Gryffindors, but for the past few weeks it had been almost agonizing watching her laugh and joke around with Potter and Weasley, watch her be amazingly kind to Longbottom and patiently help him when Snape's back was turned during Potions class. My schoolboy crush on her was growing, and I didn't know how to prevent it.

Just then, Hermione's gaze found mine, and I quickly jerked my head away, feeling like everyone was looking at me now, they all knew I had been looking at mudblood Granger. They all knew I had thought of her as pretty and I had a huge crush on her. They all knew, everyone knew.

When I looked up again, Hermione was running out of the dining hall and the Weasley was looking over in my direction, trying to figure out who had made her friend run away like that.

I stood up from the table, my intent to go follow after Hermione and explain how things were, how things would always be, when Pansy grabbed a hold of my arm. "Draco, where are you going? Breakfast isn't over yet." Her whiny voice put me on edge, and I yanked my arm out of her grip.

"I need a little space. I'll see you in bloody charms," I told my friends, not directing my comment only at Pansy, before walking out of the dining hall.

When I got to the great hall, I glanced around before catching a glimpse of a curly mane of hair turning a corner to the left. I was just about to follow Hermione when someone grabbed onto my shoulder, whirling me around.

"Where the bloody hell do you think you're going, Malfoy?" Weasley demanded, and I inwardly groaned. What did he want?

"It's none of your business, Weasley," I spat, my standard rude, disgusted tone in place as I talked to one of my two enemies. Of course, the other was never far behind.

"Ron? What are you doing?" Potter walked up behind Weasley, a crease between his brows before he saw who Weasley was talking to.

"You stay away from her, you hear?" Ron nearly shouted, his face scrunched up in anger. For a moment I racked through my brain for who he could be talking about, but then it hit me. Granger. He was being overprotective about Granger because he thought she had a thing for me. Or I had a thing for her. I was just about to explain what was really going on when Potter spoke up.

"Ron, calm down," Potter pulled back on Weasley's robes, but he didn't budge.

"She's been scared out of her mind since potions yesterday. Won't barely talk to us about anything. I know you said something to her. I know you did. You scared her. And now it's gonna stop. You stay away from her, you hear me?" he was fuming now, his chest heaving from the effort I assumed he was using not to tackle me and try to beat me up.

"And what if I don't, Weasleby? What are you going to do about it?" It was the wrong thing to say in two respects. One, because that made it sound like I wanted to be with Granger or something, wanted to talk to her, was going to ignore Weasley and suffer whatever consequences he had in mind to do it. And two, because when I said that, Weasley launched himself at me, hands extended, eyes about to pop out of his head from rage.

"Aaarrrrggggghhh!" he shouted, ramming himself into me as I toppled over from his weight. As we fell to the floor, I hit my head rather hard on the stone floor, and my vision went black for a few moments. I blinked rapidly, trying to regain my vision as Weasley began to pummel me with his fists. I finally raised my arms up in an attempt to defend myself, but it didn't do much use. My dizziness prevented me from fighting back, so I had to just lay there as Weasley beat me up.

"You." He punched me in the jaw at this. "Stay." He punched my nose, and I felt a warm gush of blood run down my face. "Away." He punched my left shoulder, and I thought I heard something crack, and felt a searing pain through my arm. I let out a strangled yell, wishing someone would help to come and stop him. "From." He punched my jaw again. "Her." He was just bringing his fist back to punch me again, when someone grabbed onto his arm, holding back his bloodied knuckles.

"Ron, goddammit, that's enough!" I vaguely recognized Potter's voice before I blacked out.

**Hermione:**

I stormed up towards Dumbledore's office, stopping at the large stone gargoyle. I stood there, frozen for a moment before I remembered I needed the password to get into his office, and obviously I didn't know it. I was about to go out to Herbology, accepting defeat, when the gargoyle sprung aside. I widened my eyes as the door opened, and someone stepped out.

Pale and stricken-looking, Harry stepped out of the staircase, and I ran forwards, hugging him fiercely for what I thought was no good reason. "Harry! Where were you during Transfiguration? Where's Ron? What happened? People were whispering, but no one would tell me what had happened-"

"Ron beat Malfoy up," Harry stated calmly, although his eyes remained worried.

"What?!" I exclaimed, my hand raising up to my mouth for two reasons. One, Ron had broken a very serious rule and might very well be expelled or not allowed to take the O.W.L's and held back depending on how badly Malfoy was beaten. Two, it bothered me that it was Malfoy that Ron had beaten up. I knew I was supposed to hate him, but I still didn't want him to get hurt. "Why did he beat Malfoy up?"

"You," he muttered, beginning to walk down the corridor, and I followed him.

"'You'? What is that supposed to mean? Harry, what are you talking abou-"

Harry interrupted me, coming to a halt in the middle of the corridor, and I nearly ran into him for the second time that day. "He confronted Malfoy about you. He said you weren't acting the same since you had been partnered with him in potions, that he had said something to you to scare you. And he told him to stay away from you. But Malfoy refused... or something like refused and then Ron started to beat him up. It was pretty bad. I think Malfoy hit his head on the ground because there was blood before Ron even began to hit him."

"Oh my, God," I breathed, widening my eyes. I took several deep breaths, attempting to calm myself, but it didn't work. "Oh my, God," I repeated, hardly believing what I had just heard.

"He's in the hospital wing now, not sure exactly how badly he was injured, but-" I didn't let him finish because I raced away from him, down the corridor. I wasn't exactly sure why, but I found myself heading towards the hospital wing.

My heart was in my throat when I reached the doors, and I skidded to a stop, panting slightly. Did I dare go inside? Could I bring herself to pity Malfoy? He had never done anything remotely nice for me in his life. But had he really deserved to be beaten up by Ron? Thinking about it, maybe he had, but he deserved a visit to explain that I hadn't asked him to do that for me.

I bravely opened up the heavy doors that led into the hospital wing and glanced around. All of the beds were empty except for one. I couldn't see who was in it because there was a curtain surrounding the bed, but I assumed it was Malfoy. Before I could take another step forward, however, Madam Pomfrey came hurrying towards me.

"What are you doing here, Miss Granger? You should be in class!" Madam Pomfrey didn't look exactly mad, more confused and a little worried.

"I-I..." I hesitated, not sure if I wanted the words to come out of my mouth. "I came to see Malfoy," I finally said, a breath falling from my lips as I finally faced the truth that all I wanted to do was see if he was alright.

Madam Pomfrey let out a sigh before motioning towards the curtained bed. "He was brought here not too long ago. I've bandaged everything up, and healed everything I could, but he's still knocked out. Professor McGonagall said it was the youngest Weasley boy who beat him up. Hit his head pretty hard on the floor, I was told. But I'm sure the damage is only minor," her reassurances didn't make me feel any better, and I was completely astounded that Ron could be so violent.

"You can visit him for a while, but you should get back to class soon, dear," she told me kindly, and I nodded numbly as she left my side to go back to her office. Once the door was shut, I walked slowly over to Malfoy's bed.

When I got to the curtain, I took a deep, trembling breath before pulling the curtain aside and walking into the enclosed area. When my eyes fell upon the still figure in the bed, I couldn't help the gasp that escaped me.

Malfoy's eyes were closed, and I assumed he was either sleeping or knocked out. His face was covered with bruises that looked like they would be terribly painful. His arm was in a cast from what appeared to be either a broken or dislocated shoulder. There was also a bandage wrapped tightly around his head that must have been for the injury he had sustained from falling over. I couldn't help sighing, and almost felt a twinge of regret for what Ron had done to Malfoy. After all, it was technically my fault even though it had never been in my mindset to have my ginger friend attack the blond boy in front of me.

I found myself drawn to the chair beside his bed, and I sat down, practically against my will. My mind was screaming that this was wrong, that I should be walking away, that Malfoy was my enemy. He was my enemy.

But my body was betraying me, and so was my heart.

I was most certainly not in love with Malfoy. Hell, I couldn't even bring myself to call him by his first name. But there was no doubt I was attracted to him. Even if I kept trying to will myself not to be. There was almost no possibility that Malfoy would feel the same sort of attraction to me as I felt towards him. He expressed his feelings very well, and in some cases very rudely, so I knew that if he felt anything towards me, he would have told me. At least he would have told me if he wanted other people to know.

My thoughts were so jumbled up at this point that I almost didn't notice when my own hand reached out and brushed Malfoy's blonde hair out of his eyes. My fingers ghosted across his forehead, but even at this light touch, Malfoy stirred.

I jumped up, my heart suddenly thumping wildly as I pulled Malfoy's curtain back and ran out of the hospital wing.

I hoped to God that Madam Pomfrey wouldn't tell Malfoy that I had visited him. If she did, I thought I might just die.

**Please Review! It makes my day when I receive feedback and constructive criticism on my stories :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry for the lateness...my summer has been very hectic :(**

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**Draco:**

When I had recovered from my injuries that Weasley had inflicted upon me, I had immediately sought out Granger. I wanted to finally tell her what I had meant to tell her the day I had been beaten up. But when I finally found her, I couldn't do it. If I had any chance with her, any at all, it would be ruined if I said anything about how I thought things should be.

I had even had my entire speech planned out. I had wanted to tell her that I was a Slytherin and she was a Gryffindor and already from the start that made us incompatible as anything, even friends. That since she was the top of our class, and I was second, that made us competitors, and put us even more at odds from each other. That both of her friends hated me, and they would never accept me as anything, and that she was a mudblood who would disgrace me if I ever talked to her again.

That had been the logical part of my heart speaking. The part that was loyal to my pureblood family, loyal to Slytherin House where muggle-borns weren't shunned. But the part that had feelings for Granger, though I wasn't sure how strong those feelings were at the moment, won out. I couldn't say those things to her. I just couldn't.

The remaining weeks of the school year, she avoided me. I didn't try to talk to her either, but I was hoping that she would seek me out to explain why Weasley had really beat me up. Were they together? Was he simply being an overprotective friend? I wanted to know, but asking would show that I cared. And I didn't want her to know I cared. I didn't want anyone to know.

During the summer, I found out that I got Outstanding on all of my O.W.L.'s except for potions, which I got an Exceeds Expectations in. I put the lower mark down to either Pansy's annoying attempts at flirting with me or Hermione's distractions that were completely unintentional on her part.

Also during that same summer, I was personally asked by the Dark Lord to commit the crime that would help him finally rise to full power once more. I didn't want to become a Death Eater. I wanted to remain in Hogwarts and finish off school and do something productive with my life. But refusing would mean the death of my father, Lucius, or my mother, Narcissa. And me of course.

"Draco, you should be honored!" my aunt, Bellatrix hissed, baring her teeth in a snake-like manner and glaring at me. "You should be honored the dark Lord has chosen you for this task. It is an honor-"

"Bellatrix," my mother cut in, stopping my aunt from berating me anymore. "That's enough."

"But Cissy," Bellatrix said, walking over to her sister and whispering urgently in her ear. "You must make him do this. You know what he will do if he refuses. He will kill Draco. He's Lucius' son just as much as yours, and I don't think your husband would like it very much if his son was killed-"

"Bellatrix!" his mother exclaimed, a mixed look of horror and annoyance on her face. "That's enough."

I heard the blood roaring through my ears as my pulse began to race. Voldemort wanted me to kill Dumbledore. He wanted me to become a Death Eater. It was too much to take in in such a short period of time. I had acknowledged that my father was one, but could I become one myself? That would ruin any chance I had of being accepted into the real wizarding community. But what if Voldemort's side won? I would surely be executed for not siding with him when I had the chance. Or I would be executed right now.

"I'll do it," I spoke up, raising my voice to be heard over my mother's and my aunt's bickering.

"What?" my mother whirled towards me, her face panic-stricken, and I sighed.

"Mother, I said I would do it." I replied, keeping my voice even as best I could.

Bellatrix let out a squeal of delight, twirling around with giddiness. I felt slightly disgusted at her excitement over my agreeing to do the Dark Lord's dirty work. Her loyalty towards the murderer I secretly despised was never-faltering and somewhat curious considering he was partly responsible for her husband's death.

"Draco, you don't have to. I can talk him out of it somehow... I can ask him to have someone else kill him-"

"How? Mother, he'll kill you." I paused, taking a deep breath at the realization of how true my own words were. "I just want to protect you. I can take care of myself." And with that, I stood up from the chair I had been sitting in and left the room.

On September 1, at 11:00 AM, I boarded the Hogwarts Express on Platform 9 3/4. The weight of what I had to do this year was pressing on my shoulders, and I nearly regretted agreeing to do what Voldemort had asked of me. I could still feel where the Dark Mark had been pressed into my skin, and I winced.

"Draco! There you are! I haven't heard from you all summer!" Pansy exclaimed, flouncing over to me as she began to pull me down the corridor of the train.

Pansy Parkinson had certainly changed since the last time I had seen her. She had slimmed down quite a bit, and gotten a haircut that made her face look less pug-like. She wore a minimal amount of makeup, which was a change from the loads she had piled on the previous year, and some might have even called her quite attractive. But in reality, she was just as annoying as ever.

As she tugged me down the corridor, I glanced into one of the compartments and my heart nearly stopped. There was Granger, talking animatedly to Weasley and Potter about something, looking more than a little annoyed. As much as I had tried to push my feelings about her away, storing them in the farthest corner of my mind, it all came rushing back. At that moment, I realized there was no doubt about it: I had strong feelings for the mudblood. But I still couldn't tell her. I could never tell her.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four: Hermione**

"Harry, that is the absolute most ridiculous thing I have ever heard in my entire life!" I exploded, and I was sure my face was turning bright red. "Malfoy? A Death Eater? You-Know-Who would have to be insane to choose someone like him to join his forces," Harry, however, still looked steadfast to his opinion. "Ron, please tell me you're not going to listen to him," I said, turning to Ron in desperation.

"Well... You-Know-Who would have to be barking mad, but... he is mad. So... it's possible." Ron said, his voice hesitant and I sighed frustratedly.

"Fine. Then while you two plot ways to have Malfoy expelled for reasons that you don't even have any proof for, I'm going to leave." And with that, I stomped out of the compartment and began searching for Ginny.

When I found her, she was sitting in a compartment with Neville and Luna, and I sat down next to her. "Hermione!" Ginny exclaimed, grinning broadly at me before giving me a huge hug. I laughed at her, smiling.

"Hey, Ginny," I said, pulling away and then smiling at my two other friends.

"It's good to see you, Hermione," Luna voiced, and I grinned at her.

"You too, Luna."

Neville grinned widely at me, and I mirrored the gesture. "Hi, Neville. It's great to see you," I said, and he nodded. "It's great to see all of you," I then said, addressing everyone in the compartment. "You're much better company than Harry is at the moment."

"Harry? What's wrong with Harry's company?" Ginny asked, her eyes showing her concern, and I let out a giggle.

"I think Ginny's got a crush on someone we all know," Ginny whacked my arm at this, but it only made me laugh even louder. Neville and Luna joined me, but Ginny sat there, glaring at us.

"I do not have a crush on Harry!" Ginny exclaimed, and I just shook my head.

"Okay, Ginny, whatever you say," I giggled.

"But what did you mean by us being better company than Harry?" Neville asked, repeating Ginny's question. At this, I sighed.

"He's been going on about how he thinks Malfoy is now a Death Eater," I said, grimacing at the thought. Malfoy wouldn't be capable of that kind of thing, would he? Granted, I didn't know him very well, and what I did know of him wasn't all that great, but I didn't think he would be so terrible as to side with You-Know-Who.

"Malfoy? A Death Eater? That's ridiculous," Neville said, and I nodded my head vigorously.

"Exactly. Harry's just being paranoid, and trying to place blame somewhere. And where better to place it than at his school enemy?" I said, thanking Neville in my head, because someone finally agreed with me.

"I agree with you two," Luna said, meaning me and Neville. "Malfoy may not be very nice, but I don't think he could be a Death Eater."

We all turned to Ginny then, and I was hoping her opinion would be the same as ours. Ginny hesitated for a moment before sighing. "I have to agree with you guys. If You-Know-Who is smart at all, the last person on Earth he should pick to be a Death Eater would be Malfoy. The first sign of any danger and he'd go crying back to his mother." Neville and Luna nodded at this, but I pondered over her last statement.

'The first sign of any danger and he'd go crying back to his mother.'

Was Malfoy really that pathetic? I wasn't sure I wanted to think of him as that low, but perhaps I was wrong. Maybe he really was just a disgusting low-life who only depended on his parents.

What did I know?

After arriving at Hogwarts and unboarding from the train, Neville, Luna, Ginny and I got into a carriage together, which was pulled by invisible creatures called Thestrals. At least that's what Luna told us. Since none of the rest of us could see them, I wasn't sure if they were actually there or not.

When we got to the castle, the three of us sat together at the Gryffindor house table, while Luna went over to the Ravenclaw table, and I effectively sat myself as far away from Harry and Ron as I could get.

The sorting proceeded as it usually did, and afterwards, we all headed upstairs to our common rooms. Ron and I being prefects, we had been told the password, and we had to heard all of the first years up to the common room. Ron was muttering the entire way about having to 'look after the bloody first years', and I was trying to keep them all together.

After we had shown them everything, and they had all gone up to their dormitories, I turned on Ron.

"Did you have to be so bloody unhelpful?" I demanded, furious with him. First he sided with Harry in thinking that Draco Malfoy could be a Death Eater, and now this. I was at my last straw with him.

"Well, come on, Hermione! My first job as a prefect was to help out with first years! Did you think I was going to be happy about it?" Ron retorted, and I huffed in annoyance.

"Being a prefect isn't all sitting in the special car on the train and getting special treatment from teachers!" I spat at him, seething. Ron could see that I was about to blow up at him again when he raised his hands in front of himself.

"Alright, alright, whatever you say," he said. I could hear a hint of sarcasm in his voice, but I chose to ignore it, stomping up the stairs towards my own dormitory, which I shared with Lavender Brown, Parvati Patil, and Fay Dunbar.

"Are you alright, Hermione?" Parvati asked as I walked in, still feeling quite annoyed.

"It's just Ron annoying me again. The usual," I muttered, walking over to my bed and beginning to dress myself in my pajamas.

"Did you say Ron?" Lavender asked, standing up from where she had been placing something in her trunk.

"Looks like someone's got a crush," Parvati teased, but I felt my stomach tense up. For some reason I felt a little jealous of Lavender. But why? I didn't like Ron, and he didn't like me. Despite telling myself this, I couldn't shake off the feeling as I climbed into bed.

The next morning, I went down to breakfast, pointedly ignoring Harry and Ron as I sat down with Ginny.

"Oh, good lord, you're not still on about that, are you?" Ron complained as he stuffed another sausage into his mouth.

I didn't reply as I steadily spread jam on my toast. Harry sighed at me, and I could tell he was about to say something a little less insensitive than what Ron had, but someone spoke up before him.

"Ron?" Lavender asked, and my head jerked up at her. The feeling in the pit of my stomach returned as she smiled flirtily at him.

He looked up at her, confused, his mouth stuffed with eggs and toast. "Just wanted to say good morning," she said quickly, flouncing off to sit down with Parvati farther down the table.

Ginny widened her eyes at me, but I simply went back to rhythmically spreading my jam, not really hungry anymore.

"Hermione, you've been spreading that jam for almost ten minutes now," Harry stated a few minutes later, and I glanced up, annoyed at the interruption. Harry noticed then that I was in a mood, and went back to his own breakfast.

We had Herbology with the Slytherins first thing that day, and I wasn't looking forward to it. I had grudgingly allowed myself into conversation with Harry later on during breakfast, but I was still angry with Ron.

"During your sixth year at Hogwarts, you will be dealing with very dangerous plants," Professor Sprout announced, gesturing around Greenhouse 7. We had never used this greenhouse in previous years, and Neville had been staring around in wonder since we had entered. "So, you have been warned," she finished, nodding. "Now, I've got an interesting lesson planned for today, although it may not be the most exciting thing you've ever experienced," Professor Sprout continued, and some of the Slytherins began mumbling. I noticed Malfoy talking quietly to Blaise, but turned myself away, not wanting to look at him any longer.

"We will be observing Venomous Tentacula Plants today, and since Dumbledore has been pressing schoolwide House cooperation, you'll each be paired with someone from a different House," Professor Sprout said. Neville's face had lifted from the prospect of working with something so dangerous, but fell when she announced would have to be working with Slytherins. It was bad enough having classes with them, but now we actually had to work with them? Glancing at Malfoy again, I wished for a moment that I would be partnered with him. That moment disappeared however, and I turned back to Professor Sprout.

"I'll do the pairing!" Professor Sprout shouted over the various groaning, whispering and complaining.

She moved throughout the students, pairing them up at random, so there were sets of red and green everywhere.

"Mr. Weasley!" Professor Sprout called, and Ron looked up from where he was whispering with Harry. "Go with Mr. Goyle!" Ron's eyes nearly popped out of his head from the obvious shock at his horrible luck. He noticeably swallowed, before walking slowly over towards where Goyle was standing. Goyle didn't look too happy about the arrangement either, muttering something to Malfoy before reluctantly walking over to Ron. Ron's eyes were bugged out in such an absurd manner that I couldn't help feeling a tad sorry for him. He did look ridiculously pathetic, scared out of his mind by Goyle. It wasn't like the Slytherin could do anything to him while Professor Sprout was in the room. And if Ron wasn't such a bloody useless, unfeeling, insensitive weasel, I might have forgiven him.

But unfortunately for many people, he was.

"Miss Granger!" Professor Sprout called, and I came back down to earth from my thoughts. Ron seemed to be on my mind quite a lot recently, and I couldn't figure out why. He was a sodding idiot, so the only reason I could think of was that I was contracting some sort of tropical disease, given to me by the Venomous Tentacula in the short span of time that I had been within it's range.

"You'll be with Mr. Malfoy today," the Professor finished, and I refrained from allowing my mouth to drop open. Malfoy? Again? This was the second time within the span of two years. Someone was most certainly plotting against me.

I glanced over at where Malfoy was standing, looking a bit flustered at the new partner arrangements. I couldn't help but feel more than annoyed myself. For once in my life, I agreed with Malfoy's sentiments, but I knew these feelings wouldn't last long. And per usual, I was correct.

"So, Granger," Malfoy sneered, sauntering over and leering down at me. He accented my last name as if it were disgusting for him to even have to say it. "Looks like we're partnered up once again." I couldn't believe that he even remembered us being partners the previous year in potions. Evidently, Malfoy rarely forgot any interactions he shared with muggle-borns. I assumed that was his train of thought, anyway.

The agreement I had felt with Malfoy at being bothered by our partnership vanished immediately. Almost like a great gust of wind had entered the greenhouse and swept it away. But there was no sign of any wind, and Malfoy remained standing there. I wished that he had been swept away along with everything else in my imaginary wind storm. At the moment it was turning into a hurricane.

"What's the matter, mudblood? Can't stand to be partnered with a Slytherin?" he laughed haughtily, and I turned to shoot him an icy look.

"No, I wouldn't mind being partnered with any other Slytherin," I replied, and Malfoy immediately stopped laughing. "It's just you I don't want to be partnered with," I told him, and turned away to hear what Professor Sprout was saying about our lesson for that day. That was kind of a lie, since all of the Slytherin's despised Gryffindors, so any partnership during this class would have been torture, but this one was worst of all.

When she had finished, I ignored Malfoy and briskly walked over to my bag to fetch my parchment, quill, and ink. I sat down at one of the partner tables that had seemingly just appeared (I assumed that they had) in front of a young Venomous Tentacula Plant. I heard a stool scrape the floor behind me as someone, probably Malfoy, sat down. I ignored him however, and spread out my parchment, ready to take notes. Despite Professor Sprout saying that today's lesson would not be the most exciting, I found it the opposite. I loved taking notes, so the class should have been fine. Except for one persistent and annoyingly attractive Slytherin.

"Granger, this is supposed to be a partner activity," Malfoy sighed, trying to peek over my arm to see what I had been writing down on my parchment. My first scroll was already half half covered with my small, squished writing, and I could see from the corner of my eye that Malfoy was squinting to attempt to decipher it.

I refused to respond, and continued to scribble across the parchment, shifting my arm to Malfoy couldn't see what I had written. Letting out another sigh, I heard Malfoy begin to take his own notes, writing much more slowly than I was. Inwardly, this pleased me quite a bit more than it should have.

"Mr. Malfoy! Miss Granger! You need to be working together!" Professor Sprout called out, startling me so much I tipped my ink bottle. Just as it was about to spill across my notes, Malfoy's hand shot out and caught it, setting it back. My eyes widened at this sudden turn around, before being startled once more by Professor Sprout calling out again. "That goes for all of you!" I noticed her giving Ron and Goyle a pointed look as the abruptly stopped elbowing one another. I thought how childish that was of Ron.

"You're welcome," Malfoy said, and I turned back to him, remembering his strange act of kindness.

"Um... thanks?" I asked, making the statement sound more like a question.

Malfoy nodded, and I shook my head almost imperceptibly, trying to clear my head and turn back to my notes.

* * *

**Sorry for not updating as often as I would like. I hope you enjoyed this chapter anyway! :)**


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